Women have always played vital roles in revolutionary uprisings, contrary to popular patriarchal narratives. Throughout history, thousands of women have fought against regimes they perceived as oppressive, either with the pen, the podium, or their own fists. In honor of July 4th, here are a few of their stories.
1. Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814): The Conscience of the American Revolution
Called a 鈥渞eal genius鈥 and 鈥渢he most accomplished woman in America鈥 , Mercy Otis Warren was born into an intellectual, political family in West Barnstable, Massachusetts in 1728. As an adult, she moved to Plymouth, raised five sons, and was by all accounts an elegant, genteel woman of impeccable manners and taste.
But Warren was also a radical revolutionary. She called her home 鈥淥ne Liberty Square鈥 and headed a salon of patriots fed up with oppressive British rule. She wrote hugely influential, pointed political plays and poems which were printed in Boston papers.
鈥淪he cast her patriot friends as heroes and her Loyalist enemies as villains,鈥 her biographer Gretchen Woelfle , 鈥渨ith names like Rapatio, Simple-Sapling, Crusty Crowbar, Hector Mushroom and Hum Humbug.鈥 In , Warren鈥檚 meditation on the Boston Tea Party, she wrote: 鈥淭he fair Salacia, victory, sings, in spite of heroes, demigods, or kings; She bids defiance to the servile train, the pimps and sycophants of George鈥檚 reign.鈥
In 1805, her masterwork, the three-volume was published, becoming the definitive Jeffersonian Republican version of America鈥檚 birth. In it, Warren reminds future American citizens:
鈥淭he elective franchise is in their own hands; that it ought not to be abused, either for personal gratifications, or the indulgence of partisan acrimony鈥he principles of revolution ought ever be the pole-star of the statesman, respected by the rising generation.鈥
2. Claire Lacombe (1765- ?): Her Greatest Role Was Revolution
It was a steaming July day in Paris in 1792. In the midst of a meeting of the revolutionary Legislative Assembly, a beautiful, unknown black-haired woman with the mannerisms and rich voice of a seasoned performer :
鈥淟egislators! A Frenchwoman, an actress at the moment without a part; such am I; that which should have caused me to despair fills my soul with the purest of joy. As I cannot come to the assistance of my country, which you have declared to be in danger, with monetary sacrifices, I desire to offer it the devotion of my person. Born with the courage of a Roman matron and with hatred for tyrants, I shall consider myself happy to contribute to their destruction鈥erish all despots to the last man!鈥
For the next three years, Claire Lacombe, a struggling provincial actress, would become a star among the most extremist elements of the French Revolution. Known as 鈥淩ed Rosa,鈥 she danced atop the ruins of the Bastille, was shot in the arm during the storming of the Tuileries, and co-founded the radical, influential feminist 鈥淩epublican Revolutionary Society鈥 (also known as the ). These 鈥渆nraged鈥 women of the maligned lower-class fought for equal rights and the destruction of all aristocrats.
Militant and fierce, Lacombe and her 鈥渄ragoons鈥 terrified the men of the revolution. In 1794, Lacombe was thrown in jail, and women鈥檚 clubs were outlawed. When she was released 16 months later, 鈥渟he mingled with the crowd outside,鈥 Lacombe鈥檚 biographer Galina Sokolnikova , 鈥渁nd vanished into obscurity.鈥
3. Margarita Neri (Date of Birth and Death Unknown): The Rebel Queen of Morelos
In 1911, the breathlessly reported on revolutionary battles taking place in Guerrero, a southern coastal state in war-torn Mexico. 鈥淧etticoat leads band of Rebels,鈥 the headline blared, in a story picked up all across North America. Margarita Neri, 鈥淟a Neri鈥 or 鈥淧epita鈥 to her 700-plus followers, was a young, wealthy convent girl who was incensed over outrageous taxes. So, she raised an army against the Mexican government. La Neri,鈥渁lthough beautiful in feature,鈥 was a daring raider.
鈥淭he Rebel Queen of Morelos鈥 was the daughter of a Mayan Indian and a former Mexican general who had rebelled against the strongman government of President Diaz over a decade before. Years after her father鈥檚 death, she took up his fight, and in the process became a legendary figure during her own short lifetime. Brutal and fiery, the red-headed Neri was known for her passionate dancing鈥 personally 鈥渄ecapitate Diaz.鈥 Her troops were infamous for their violence鈥攍ooting, burning and pillaging whole towns. So feared was La Neri, it was said the Governor of Guerrero and fled her forces in a panic. Neri was reportedly , but the place and time of her death are unknown.
4. Qiu Jin (1875-1907): China鈥檚 Joan of Arc
鈥淲ith all my heart I beseech and beg my 200 million female compatriots to assume their responsibility as citizens. Arise! Arise! Chinese women arise!鈥-
In 1904, Qiu Jin, a wealthy Chinese wife, mother, poet, and feminist, tired of the severe patriarchal restraints placed on her intellectual and political development, shocked Beijing society. Leaving her family behind, she sailed to Japan to enroll in college and meet with like-minded Chinese revolutionaries, who sought to overthrow their corrupt government. She described the journey in , 鈥淩egrets; Lines Written En Route to Japan鈥:
Unbinding my feet I clean out a thousand years of poison,
With heated heart arouse all women鈥檚 spirits.
Alas, this delicate kerchief here,
Is half stained with blood, and half with tears.
When she returned to China in 1906, Jin had morphed into a fearless revolutionary leader, famous for her swordplay, cross-dressing and . She ran the Datong School鈥攔ecruiting young revolutionaries鈥攁nd started a radical feminist magazine called the Chinese Women鈥檚 Journal. In 1907, Jin passed from brilliant activist to martyr, when she was tortured and beheaded at the age of 31 for allegedly conspiring to
5. Esraa Abdel Fattah (1978-present): Egypt鈥檚 Facebook Revolutionary
In 2008, Abdel Fattah started a Facebook group in support of a textile workers鈥 strike in Egypt. Her gutsy activism gained her fame鈥攁nd a nickname鈥 鈥渢he Facebook Girl.鈥 It also landed her in jail. But it was her revolutionary actions in 2011 that would make her a profound symbol of social action鈥攁nd a target of Egypt鈥檚 government鈥攖o this very day.
As one of the leaders of 2011鈥檚 January Revolution and Arab Spring, Abdel Fattah led a small group of protesters into Tahrir Square, protesting the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. As their numbers swelled to the thousands, she bravely recorded her experiences in the Square on Facebook and Twitter, bringing the Egyptian revolution into the world鈥檚 consciousness. 鈥淲e feared being arrested or killed,鈥 , 鈥渂ut we were achieving the dream of justice and democracy.鈥 For her actions, which helped lead to the overthrow of the Mubarak government, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
However, Abdel Fattah has seen her dream of democracy replaced by a repressive regime much like the one she fought to overthrow. She has been persecuted by the government, and in the fall of 2017 was and is not allowed to leave Egypt. 鈥淚 lived through those 18 days in 2011 like a wonderful utopia,鈥 . 鈥淏ut we were idiots鈥攊diots to believe Morsi鈥檚 promises of democracy. Sometimes I think there鈥檚 no hope鈥 But if I stopped my activism, I鈥檇 feel I was betraying everyone who鈥檚 died or gone to prison.鈥